Method for leveraging in-vehicle resources

ABSTRACT

In-vehicle resources (wherein the resources each provide a common category of capacity to effect a processor effected activity) are leveraged by selecting the processor activity, selecting for at least one vehicle, a plurality of in-vehicle resources, and parsing facilitation of the processor effected activity by parsing the common category of capacity across the plurality of in-vehicle resources.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates generally to vehicles, and more particularly tosustained or supplemented functionality and/or features.

BACKGROUND

Personal, commercial, and industrial vehicles of various kinds are knownin the art, and include automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, recreationalvehicles of various kinds, boats, trailers, trains (both locomotives andcars) to name a few. Many such vehicles include various on-board systemsthat provide various kinds of specific functionality. For example, amodern automobile may include upwards of eightymicrocontrollers/microprocessors with corresponding attendant memory todiscretely support engine control, automatic window control, brakingsystems, cockpit temperature control, entertainment systems, and soforth. Furthermore, the respective quantity of such functionality tendsto be increasing rather than decreasing or reaching a static condition.

At any given moment, typically, each such identifiable quantum ofcapacity is not used to a maximum extent. Some such components functiononly occasionally, if ever, while others experience intermittent ratherthan continuous usage. Viewed collectively, excess capacity in any givenvehicle exists in varying amounts from moment to moment.

This observation can be extended when considering a plurality ofvehicles (such as a managed fleet of vehicles, a group of vehiclescomprising a similar model as manufactured by a common manufacturer, orsimply a group of vehicles that all tend to operate in a commongeographic area). That is, some given functional element as shared bymost or all of the vehicles in a group of vehicles is unlikely to bemaximally used in each such vehicle at all times. Viewed across thegroup, again, excess capacity exists for such elements.

Such excess capacity, both within an individual vehicle and with respectto a group of vehicles, constitutes an opportunity to benefit any numberof parties, including the vehicle operators themselves and others. Todate, however, such excess capacity remains an untapped opportunity.Vehicles, both as discrete entities and as part of a larger group ofvehicles, tend to be designed with unexploited excess capacity being thenorm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above needs are at least partially met through provision of themethod of leveraging in-vehicle resources described in the followingdetailed description, particularly when studied in conjunction with thedrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 comprises a general flow diagram as configured in accordance withan embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 comprises a simplified block diagram of a vehicle as configuredin accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 comprises a flow diagram as configured in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 comprises a flow diagram as configured in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 comprises a block diagram of a plurality of vehicles asconfigured in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 comprises a top plan schematic view of vehicles on a roadway asconfigured in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 comprises a flow diagram as configured in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 comprises a flow diagram as configured in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 comprises a timing diagram as configured in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 comprises a top plan schematic view of vehicles on a roadway asconfigured in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 comprises a timing diagram as configured in accordance with anembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 12 comprises a block diagram of a plurality of vehicles asconfigured in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures areillustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily beendrawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements inthe figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help toimprove understanding of various embodiments of the present invention.Also, common but well-understood elements or steps that are useful ornecessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are typically notdepicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these variousembodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Generally speaking and referring now to FIG. 1, pursuant to thesevarious embodiments, a plurality of in-vehicle resources are selected11. The in-vehicle resources can be different from one another to anextent, provided that the resources contained within the selected groupshare at least one common category of capacity to effect a particulardesired activity. For example, a common category of capacity could bememory, computational capacity, external communications capacity, orsome specific functionality of interest. Therefore, for an automobile,an engine controller, brake controller, and window controller compriseresources that could be grouped together in this way because, althoughthese controllers each have different specific functionality, each alsohas general computational capacity and memory. Such computationalcapacity and memory each constitutes a common category of capacity thatis shared by these controllers. (It should be noted that, as usedherein, the concept of “a common category of capacity” does not includeexternal phenomena transducers as such. For example, interfaces such astemperature sensors, infrared sensors, weight sensors, image inputdevices, speakers, keyboards, cursor movement devices, display screens,and so forth are not a properly included category of capacity. “A commoncategory of capacity” can include, however, specific functionality thatutilizes such transducers to receive and/or impart information.)

An activity is then selected 12 and facilitation of that activity isparsed 13 across the previously selected plurality of resources. Variousexamples of activities and resources are set forth below to aid inillustrating these steps.

As one illustrative example, and referring now to FIG. 2, a vehicle,such as an automobile 20, includes a number of subsystems. In thisparticular embodiment these subsystems include an engine controller 21,a window controller 22, an entertainment system 23, a brake controller24, and two communications units (a dedicated short range communications(DSRC) unit 25 and a 2-way communications unit 26 such as, for example,a land mobile frequency radio or a cellular telephony device). Manyother subsystems are of course typically provided in an ordinaryautomobile but are not shown here for purposes of clarity. Otheroptional systems, such as a global positioning system (GPS) unit 27could also be provided as desired and appropriate. Some or all of thesesubsystems can be coupled to one another through an internal bus 28 suchthat partial or full communications therebetween can be supported. Inthis example, all of these components serve different specific functionsbut also all share certain common categories of capacity. In particular,each of these components includes computational capacity and, typically,memory storage capacity. Two of these components (the two communicationsdevices 25 and 26) also comprise an additional plurality of in-vehicleresources with an additional common category of capacity, namely,external communications capability.

Pursuant to this embodiment, at least one of these pluralities ofresources (serving computational capacity, memory, and externalcommunications) is selected. For purposes of this example, computationalcapacity is selected as the common category of capacity and the enginecontroller 21, window controller 22, brake controller 24, andentertainment system 23 are selected as the plurality of resources thathave this computational capacity as the common category of capacity. Forpurposes of this example the activity to be facilitated is operation ofthe vehicle engine. During ordinary operation, the engine controller 21facilitates this activity. For whatever reason, however, the enginecontroller 21 may become unable to fully meet this task. Under ordinarycircumstances, such a condition may render the vehicle 20 undrivable.Pursuant to this embodiment, however, this engine operation activity canbe parsed out over the plurality of resources.

More particularly, and referring now to FIG. 3, upon detecting 31functionality impairment in this regard, the functionality is parsed 32over the resources. That is, the engine controller programming is parsedover engine controller 21, the window controller 22, the brakecontroller 24, and the entertainment system 23 as appropriate to allowthe computational capacity of these devices to all be brought to bear.If the engine controller 21 is only able to manage 20% of the necessaryload, then the remaining load is distributed over the computationalcapacity of the other resources. If the other resources do not alreadyhave the necessary programming to permit this, then an optional step ofuploading 33 the corresponding programming to the selected resources maybe necessary. When the parsed activity is sufficiently operable,switchover 34 of engine control is then actuated to achieve, in thisexample, distributed processing in support of engine control.

The above actions are intended to be illustrative as to a generalprocess. Many variations are appropriate to accommodate a variety ofindividual circumstances. For example, the combined availablecomputational capacity of these resources may be insufficient toaccommodate full-time full-featured replacement of the missing enginecontroller capacity. Under these circumstances, however, the availablecapacity may still nevertheless permit implementation of at least alimp-home mode of operation. Such a mode of operation is stillpreferable to total effective loss of engine control.

In the example just presented, it is loss of capacity in one resourcethat triggers parsing the activity over other resources that share thesame capacity to at least partially serve. The principles of theseembodiments are not necessarily limited to service in only this regard,however. For example, the engine controller 21 may be fully operational,and yet still be unable to perform certain desired actions from time totime due to capacity limitations. Such supplemental processing 40 canalso be parsed over the available resources as generally illustrated inFIG. 4. Upon determining a need for supplemental processing capacity,the additional functionality can again be parsed 42 over the availableresources (if present capacity availability and limitations are notalready known, a capacity survey can first be conducted 41 to ascertainpresent availability of the other resources). If necessary, programmingor other enabling capacity is uploaded 43 to the selected resources. Theresults of the parsed activities are then used 44 as supplementalinformation.

As a simple example of the above supplemental processing 40, an enginecontroller 21 may use a set of parameters in conjunction with enginecontrol algorithms. From time to time it may be helpful to recalculateone or more of these parameters (for example, such parameters maybeneficially vary in known or measurable ways with time, mileage,altitude, fuel composition, driver behaviors, time of day, externaltemperature, weight, road incline, and so forth). Rather than providingthe engine controller 21 with sufficient capacity to calculate suchparameters from time to time as based upon new information (whichcapacity may represent otherwise unnecessary and excess capacity for theengine controller 21), the vehicle can utilize the other resources thatshare this aspect of common capacity to met the activity need. Soconfigured, the needs of the vehicle are met while simultaneouslylowering the total excess capacity overhead of the vehicle design.

The above examples illustrate the potency of the overall process tominimize resource capacity while simultaneously serving necessaryactivities. Beneficially, these results are potentially attained in away such that both cost savings and efficiency, optimization, andefficacy are jointly realized rather than one being achieved at theexpense of another.

The above examples are intended to demonstrate the application of theoverall process in the context of an individual vehicle. The process isalso applicable to a multiplicity of vehicles, however, as the followingexamples so illustrate.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a group 50 of vehicles can be comprised, forexample, of models offered and sold by a particular manufacturer whereineach vehicle is further equipped with two-way radio communicationscapability (such as, but not limited to, DSRC compatible or similarcommunications capability). Each vehicle in this group 50 can have anengine controller that effects its functionality, at least in part,through use of a corresponding engine controller software program. Thisengine controller functionality can comprise the specific functionalitythat constitutes a common category of capacity for a resource, theengine controller software program. In this example the plurality ofresources constitute the plurality of engine controller softwareprograms as exist in the group 50 of vehicles.

In this example, the engine controller software program is upgraded fromtime to time by the manufacturer. By making use of the processes ofthese embodiments, such software programs are readily upgradable in afashion that is virtually transparent to the user and withoutsignificant cost to any party including the manufacturer. In particular,and referring now to FIG. 7, a version update process 7 can allow avehicle to receive 71 a version number of the software program thatcorresponds to another vehicle and determine 72 whether that version ismore current than the version presently used by the vehicle in question.When the other version is more current, the present vehicle thendownloads 73 that newer version. When the other version is not morecurrent, the present vehicle can also determine 74 whether the otherversion is less current than the version used by the present vehicle.When true, the present vehicle can instead upload 75 its more currentversion of the software program to the other vehicle, following whichthe process 70 concludes 76.

To provide a specific example, consider the previously depicted group 50of FIG. 5 wherein vehicle 1 51 has version 1.2 of the software program,vehicle 2 52 has version 1.0, vehicle 3 53 has version 1.2, and vehicle4 54 has version 1.3. Vehicle 4 54 has the most current version whilevehicle 2 52 has the most outdated version. When vehicle 1 51 exercisethe just described process with vehicle 2 52, vehicle 1 51 willdetermine that it has the most current version of the software programand hence will provide it's version to vehicle 2 52. When vehicle 1 51encounters vehicle 4 54, however, vehicle 1 51 will determine thatvehicle 4 54 has the more current version and hence will download thismore current version to itself So configured, a software modification orupgrade can be readily proliferated throughout a user population withoutrequiring a service/maintenance visit, notice, or other time consumingor potentially expensive action or interlude.

In the above example, a single basic resource is leveraged across thevehicle population to achieve the indicated results. The overall processmay also be usefully employed with a plurality of leveraged resources.For example, while the vehicles in group 50 of the above example allhave two-way communications capability, it is possible that thebandwidth throughput limitations of their system is not adequate toalways ensure a complete download of a new version of the softwareprogram when two vehicles exchange information as described. In such acase the external communications capability of each vehicle itself canconstitute another common category of capacity that is distributed overthe user base and that can be leveraged as described.

Such a process can begin as suggested in FIG. 7 with an exchange ofversion numbers between two vehicles. Upon determining 72 that onevehicle has a more current version of the program, the process caninstead proceed as set forth in FIG. 8. Specifically, the vehicle havingthe less-current software program can provide 81 a pointer or otherindicator to aid the second vehicle in identifying that portion of thenew program that the first vehicle may already have obtained elsewhere.The second vehicle then begins to download 73 relevant portions of thenewer version to the first vehicle. When the first vehicle determines 82that the download stream has concluded, the first vehicle thendetermines 83 whether the software program is now complete. If so, thefirst vehicle can now use 84 the new version and conclude the process86. If the entire software program has not yet been fully received,however, the first vehicle can store 85 what has been received (andupdate the pointer or other indicia regarding where the download maynext begin). The process can then be repeated as necessary with othervehicles to eventually receive the entire program.

To establish an example, consider FIG. 6. That figure depicts a roadway60 featuring a first vehicle 61 traveling in a first direction 62 andthree other vehicles 63 65 traveling in the opposite direction 66. Thefirst vehicle 61 has a version of the engine controller software programthat is less current than two of the other vehicles 63 and 65. In thisexample, however, the speed at which these vehicles pass through aneffective range of communications with one another is such that acomplete download of the updated software program cannot be assured.Referring now to FIG. 59 when vehicle 1 is within range of vehicle 2,part 1 of version 1.3 of the software program can be downloaded 91. Thedownloading stops when the two vehicles move out of communication rangewith each other. Later, when vehicle 1 comes within range of vehicle 3,the two vehicles compare 92 their respective versions and conclude thatboth have the same version. In this example, no downloading occurs.Later still, when vehicle 1 comes within range of vehicle 4, part 2 ofversion 1.3 is downloaded 93 to vehicle 1. In this example, not only isthe activity of upgrading in-vehicle software parsed out over thespecific functionality resources of these vehicles, but also over theexternal communications capability of these vehicles.

In the above example, vehicle 1 and vehicle 3 exchanged no softwareprogram data with one another because both were using an identicalversion of the program. In an alternative embodiment, however, vehicle1, which does have Part 1 of a newer version, could upload that Part 1to vehicle 3. Using this alternative approach, software versions couldbe proliferated even more quickly through a user population since fullversions would not be a prerequisite requirement for transferring theupgrade to another party.

So configured, two groups of resources are utilized to achieve theselected activity of upgrading the engine controller software of aplurality of vehicles. As powerful as this result is, the more importantpoint is to understand and appreciate that this result constitutes butyet another application and example of the powerful overall processdescribed earlier:

selecting, for at least one vehicle, a plurality of in-vehicleresources, wherein the plurality of in-vehicle resources each provide acommon category of capacity to effect a particular desired activity;

selecting at least one activity; and

parsing facilitation of the at least one activity across the pluralityof in-vehicle resources.

The example just given can be modified to exhibit even further thebreadth and scope of the present process. Consider now that at leastsome of the vehicles in the group have the capability to modify, fromtime to time, the operating parameters used to implement their enginecontroller programming (to reflect local conditions such as altitude,average road inclines, fuel mixtures, and so forth) (depending upon avariety of circumstances, such modifications may be dynamicallydiscernable by the vehicle itself and/or might be downloaded to thevehicle by a local service facility). Such local parameters as stored ina given vehicle can be correlated to a geographic area. A vehicle havinginformation regarding its present location can therefore select to usesuch modified parameters to the extent that the parameters are otherwiseavailable.

Referring now to FIG. 10, in this example a roadway 60 features a firstvehicle 101 traveling in a first direction 102 and two other vehicles103 and 104 traveling in an opposite direction 105. The first vehicle101 has engine controller operating parameters B that are notspecifically shaped to reflect present geographic local conditions. Thesecond vehicle 105, however, has engine controller operating parametersA that are customized for local conditions (the third vehicle 104 hasoperating parameters C that are customized to a different locality).Presuming this arrangement, and referring now to FIG. 11, the aboveprocesses can be readily modified to allow upgrading of enginecontroller software programming as already described and also to allowthe first vehicle to download 111 the local operating parameters fromthe second vehicle. So configured, two activities (upgrading enginecontroller software and benefiting from locally customized operatingparameters) are parsed over a plurality of resources to achievesignificant benefits. As the first vehicle continues to travel, andcomes within communication range of the third vehicle, the first vehiclewill ignore 112 the operating parameters of the third vehicle sincethose parameters offer no benefit. (In an alternative embodiment, if thefirst vehicle is equipped with navigation devices such that the firstvehicle can discern that the operating parameters of the third vehiclewill eventually be useful to the first vehicle because the first vehiclewill eventually be operating in the locale that is particular to thoseoperating parameters, then the first vehicle can download the thirdvehicle's operating parameters and store them for later use.)

As one last specific example, consider FIG. 12. In this figure, threevehicles 121, 122, and 123 belonging to a group 120 such as, forexample, a fleet, are each equipped with a two-way radio receiver. Fromtime to time the fleet operator transmits a data-rich message(comprising, for example, video information, updated maps, audioinformation, and so forth) to the fleet. Bandwidth limitations may besignificant, however, and preclude effective real-time playback of theinformation transmitted. A present approach would be to transmit theentire message to each intended recipient, following which eachrecipient could review the information received. Such a transmission cantake a considerable period of time, however. This duration of time maycause a variety of issues and problems. Instead, pursuant to theseteachings, the external communications capability of these fleetvehicles constitutes an exploitable resource, and the activity ofreceiving the entire message can be parsed over these resources bytransmitting only a part of the entire message to each vehicle. Forexample, a first part of the message could be transmitted 124 to thefirst vehicle 121, a second part of the message could be transmitted 125to the second vehicle 122, and a third part of the message could betransmitted 126 to the third vehicle 123. These vehicles could thenlater exchange this information amongst themselves (using processessimilar to those described above to propagate software content and/orthrough other means) to eventually allow all of the vehicles to have andutilize the entire message.

Again, it should be understood and appreciated that these examples areillustrative only. While they represent worthy examples in and ofthemselves, they really serve primarily to demonstrate the versatility,flexibility, and power of the overall process itself. A wide variety ofcategories of capacity are usefully leveraged in these ways, includingbut not limited to:

memory capacity;

type of memory;

computational capacity;

computational capacity per unit of time;

computational capacity compatible with facilitating the at least oneactivity;

external communications reception capability;

external communications reception bandwidth;

external communications reception compatibility;

external communications transmission capability;

external communications transmission bandwidth;

external communications transmission compatibility; and

specific functionality.

Similarly, a wide variety of activities can be parsed over suchresources to achieve the same or improved performance, efficiency, andcost effectiveness as compared to present practices and designs.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that a wide variety ofmodifications, alterations, and combinations can be made with respect tothe above described embodiments without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention, and that such modifications, alterations, andcombinations are to be viewed as being within the ambit of the inventiveconcept.

We claim:
 1. A method of leveraging in-vehicle resources, comprising:identifying a processor effected nativity that can be accomplished byadding a common category of capacity to the processor effected activity;selecting, for at least one vehicle, a plurality of in-vehicleresources, wherein the plurality of in-vehicle resources can eachprovide the common category of capacity; parsing facilitation of theprocessor effected activity by parsing the common category of capacityacross the plurality of in-vehicle resources.
 2. The method of claim 1wherein selecting a plurality of in-vehicle resources comprisesselecting, for a plurality of vehicles, a plurality of in-vehicleresources, wherein the plurality of in-vehicle resources each providethe common category of capacity, and wherein each of the plurality ofvehicles has at least one of the in-vehicle resources.
 3. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the common category of capacity comprises at least oneof: memory; computational capacity; external communications capability;and specific functionality.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein the commoncategory of capacity comprises at least one of: memory capacity; type ofmemory; computational capacity; computational capacity per unit of time;computational capacity compatible with facilitating the at least oneactivity; external communications reception capability; externalcommunications reception bandwidth; external communications receptioncompatibility; external communications transmission capability; externalcommunications transmission bandwidth; external communicationstransmission compatibility; and specific functionality.
 5. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the common category of capacity comprises specificfunctionality including a software program.
 6. The method of claim 5wherein the processor effected activity includes facilitating that eachvehicle of the plurality of vehicles has a current version of thesoftware program.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein parsing facilitationof the processor effected activity includes having the plurality ofvehicles automatically exchange information amongst themselves regardingtheir own present version of the software program, and having vehicleswith a more current version of the software program provide such morecurrent version of the software program to vehicles with a less currentversion of the software program.
 8. The method of claim 2 whereinselecting, for a plurality of vehicles, a plurality of in-vehicleresources, wherein the plurality of in-vehicle resources each providethe common category of capacity, and wherein each of the plurality ofvehicles has at least one of the in-vehicle resources further comprisesselecting at least two pluralities of the in-vehicle resources, whereineach of the at least two pluralities represents a different one of atleast two common categories of capacity.
 9. The method of claim 8wherein at least one of the at least two common categories of capacitycomprises at least one of: memory; computational capacity; externalcommunications capability; and specific functionality.
 10. The method ofclaim 8 wherein each of the at least two common categories of capacityas corresponds to the at least two pluralities of the in-vehicleresources comprises at least one of: memory; computational capacity;external communications capability; and specific functionality.
 11. Themethod of claim 10 wherein a first one of the at least two commoncategories of capacity comprises specific functionality including asoftware program.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein a second one of theat least two common categories of capacity comprises externalcommunications capability.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein theprocessor effected activity includes facilitating that each of thevehicles of the plurality of vehicles has a current version of thesoftware program.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein parsingfacilitation of the processor effected activity includes having theplurality of vehicles automatically exchange information amongstthemselves regarding their own present version of the software program,and having vehicles with a more current version of the software programprovide such more current version of the software program to vehicleswith a less current version of the software program, and wherein theexternal communications capability of a plurality of the vehicles areused to provide such more current version of the software program to atleast one of the vehicles having a less current version of the softwareprogram.
 15. The method of claim 6 wherein identifying the processoreffected activity further includes identifying an additional processoreffected activity comprising facilitating that each vehicle of theplurality of vehicles has locally relevant parameters to facilitatelocal operation of the software program.
 16. The method of claim 15wherein parsing facilitation of the processor effected activity includeshaving the plurality of vehicles automatically exchange informationamongst themselves regarding their own present version of the softwareprogram and the parameters, and having vehicles with a more currentversion of the software program provide such more current version of thesoftware program to vehicles with a less current version of the softwareprogram and having vehicles with more relevant local parameters providethe more relevant local parameters to vehicles with less relevant localparameters.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein a second common categoryof capacity comprises external communications capability.
 18. The methodof claim 17 wherein parsing facilitation of the processor effectedactivity across the plurality of in-vehicle resources includes havingthe plurality of vehicles automatically exchange information amongstthemselves regarding their own present version of the software programand the parameters, and having vehicles with a more current version ofthe software program provide such more current version of the softwareprogram to vehicles with a less current version of the software programand having vehicles with more relevant local parameters provide the morerelevant local parameters to vehicles with less relevant localparameters, wherein the external communications capability of aplurality of the vehicles are used to provide such more current versionof the software program and the more relevant local parameters to atleast one vehicle of the plurality of vehicles.
 19. The method of claim1 wherein selecting, for at least one vehicle, a plurality of in-vehicleresources, includes selecting for one vehicle a plurality of thein-vehicle resources.
 20. The method of claim 18 wherein the commoncategory of capacity comprises at least one of: memory; computationalcapacity; external communications capability; and specificfunctionality.
 21. The method of claim 19 wherein the common category ofcapacity comprises computational capacity that can be used to supportspecific functionality.
 22. The method of claim 21 wherein selecting theprocessor effected activity includes assuring that at least portions ofa software program are processed, thereby ensuring at least partialsupport of the specific functionality, when a primary processingplatform corresponding to the software program is at least partiallynon-functional.
 23. The method of claim 22 wherein parsing facilitationof the processor effected activity across the plurality of in-vehicleresources includes having the plurality of in-vehicle resourcesdistributively process the at least portions of the software programwhen the primary processing platform is at least partiallynon-functional.
 24. A method of leveraging in-vehicle resources,comprising: selecting, for at least one vehicle, a plurality ofin-vehicle resources, wherein the plurality of in-vehicle resources eachprovide a common category of capacity to effect a processor effectedactivity, wherein the selecting comprises selecting, for a plurality ofvehicles, a plurality of in-vehicle resources, wherein the plurality ofin-vehicle resources each provide a common category of capacity toeffect the processor effected activity, and wherein each of theplurality of vehicles has at least one of the in-vehicle resources;selecting at least one activity; parsing facilitation of the at leastone activity across the plurality of in-vehicle resources, wherein thecommon category of capacity comprises specific functionality including asoftware program and zero or more of memory, computational capacity, andexternal communications capability, and wherein selecting at least oneactivity includes selecting facilitating that each of the plurality ofplurality of vehicles has a current version of the software program, andwherein parsing facilitation of the at least one activity across theplurality of in-vehicle resources includes having the plurality ofvehicles automatically exchange information amongst themselves regardingtheir own present version of the software program, and having vehicleswith a more current version of the software program provide such morecurrent version of the software program to vehicles with a less currentversion of the software program.
 25. A method of leveraging In-vehicleresources, comprising: selecting, for at least one vehicle, a pluralityof in-vehicle resources, wherein the plurality of in-vehicle resourceseach provide a common category of capacity to effect a processoreffected activity, wherein the selecting comprises selecting, for aplurality of vehicles, a plurality of in-vehicle resources, wherein theplurality of in-vehicle resources each provide a common category ofcapacity to effect the processor effected activity, and wherein each ofthe plurality of vehicles has at least one of the in-vehicle resources,further comprising selecting at least two pluralities of the in-vehicleresources, wherein each of the at least two pluralities represents adifferent common category of capacity; selecting at least one activity;and parsing facilitation of the at least one activity across theplurality of in-vehicle resources, wherein each of the common categoriesof capacity as corresponds to the at least two pluralities of thein-vehicle resources comprises at least one of memory, computationalcapacity, external communications capability, and specificfunctionality; and wherein a first one of the common categories ofcapacity comprises specific functionality including a software program,and wherein a second one of the common categories of capacity comprisesexternal communications capability, and wherein selecting at least oneactivity includes selecting facilitating that each of the plurality ofplurality of vehicles has a current version of the software program, andwherein parsing facilitation of the at least one activity across theplurality of in-vehicle resources includes having the plurality ofvehicles automatically exchange information amongst themselves regardingtheir own present version of the software program, and having vehicleswith a more current version of the software program provide such morecurrent version of the software program to vehicles with a less currentversion of the software program, wherein the external communicationscapability of a plurality of the vehicles are used to provide such morecurrent version of the software program to at least one of the vehicleshaving a less current version of the software program.
 26. A method ofleveraging in-vehicle resources, comprising; selecting, for at least onevehicle, a plurality of in-vehicle resources, wherein the plurality ofin-vehicle resources each provide a common category of capacity toeffect a processor effected activity, wherein the plurality ofin-vehicle resources each provide a common category of capacity toeffect the processor effected activity and wherein each of the pluralityof vehicles has at least one of the in-vehicle resources; selecting atleast one activity; parsing facilitation of the at least one activityacross the plurality of in-vehicle resources, wherein the commoncategory of capacity comprises specific functionality including asoftware program and zero or more of memory, computational capacity, andexternal communications capability, and wherein selecting at least oneactivity includes selecting facilitating that each of the plurality ofplurality of vehicles has a current version of the software program, andwherein selecting at least one activity further includes selecting anadditional activity comprising facilitating that each of the pluralityof plurality of vehicles has locally relevant parameters to facilitatelocal operation of the software program, and wherein parsingfacilitation of the at least one activity across the plurality ofin-vehicle resources includes having the plurality of vehiclesautomatically exchange Information amongst themselves regarding theirown present version of the software program and the parameters, andhaving vehicles with a more current version of the software programprovide such more current version of the software program to vehicleswith a less current version of the software program and having vehicleswith more relevant local parameters provide the more relevant localparameters to vehicles with less relevant local parameters.
 27. Themethod of claim 26 wherein a second one of the common categories ofcapacity comprises external communications capability.
 28. The method ofclaim 27 wherein parsing facilitation of the at least one activityacross the plurality of in-vehicle resources includes having theplurality of vehicles automatically exchange information amongstthemselves regarding their own present version of the software programand the parameters, and having vehicles with a more current version ofthe software program provide such more current version of the softwareprogram to vehicles with a less current version of the software programand having vehicles with more relevant local parameters provide the morerelevant local parameters to vehicles with less relevant localparameters, wherein the external communications capability of aplurality of the vehicles are used to provide such more current versionof the software program and the more relevant local parameters to atleast one of the vehicles.
 29. A method of leveraging in-vehicleresources, comprising: selecting, for at least one vehicle, a pluralityof in-vehicle resources, wherein the plurality of in-vehicle resourceseach provide a common category of capacity to effect a processoreffected activity, wherein the selecting Includes selecting tar onevehicle a plurality of the in-vehicle resources; selecting at least oneactivity; and parsing facilitation of the at least one activity acrossthe plurality of in-vehicle resources, wherein the common category ofcapacity for the plurality of in-vehicle resources comprises at leastone of memory, computational capacity, external communicationscapability, and specific functionality, and wherein the common categoryof capacity comprises computational capacity that can be used to supportspecific functionality, and wherein selecting at least one activityincludes assuring that at least portions of a software program areprocessed, thereby ensuring at least partial support of the specificfunctionality, when a primary processing platform as corresponds to thesoftware program is at least partially non-functional.
 30. The method ofclaim 29 wherein parsing facilitation of the at least one activityacross the plurality of in-vehicle resources includes having theplurality of in-vehicle resources distributively process the at leastportions of the software program when the primary processing platform Isat least partially non-functional.